Fitting In
by liquidstar
Summary: The tragic yet humours tale of a girl who wants nothing more than to read. Zell/Library Girl, Selphie/Irvine, Squall/Rinoa


Fitting In

Fitting In

I began writing this as a request from my friend Sara, who wanted me to try my hand at something other than angsty Selphie/Irvines.So I came up with this.Its sort of a humor story, meant to put a smile on your face…But you be the judge.Oh, and for those of you who like After the Storm, you probably haven't noticed, but Chapter Two is up.Have fun.^_^

It was summer. She sat under the willow tree, long, tendriled fingers sheltering her from the heat of the afternoon sun. All around her, children were training; ducking swings, shouting, and even laughing. Every once in awhile, someone would yell, "Cast Fire!" and a roaring inferno would flare up for a moment, and then disappear in a cloud of smoke. How odd that amidst all the chaos, she should be sitting there, absorbed in the tale of the First Sorceress War.   
  
Orderly chaos, she thought with amuesment, glancing up as laughter echoed around the valley. Funny how everything was a game to them. How killing someone can be passed off as a simple grade point. They'd learn. Shaking her head, she once again became absorbed in the book, scooting closer to her strong ward, the tree which hid her from her instructors. If she was lucky, they wouldn't noticeh her absence, and would continue the lesson on casting magic without her. They never noticed her anyways.   
  
"Heeeey! Mirae!" A petite girl with bouncy brown hair stuck her head through the blanket of leaves, grinning widely. "Whatcha doin'?"   
  
Mirae smiled weakly. "Reading, Selph. Keep it down, okay? I don't want Aki to-"   
  
"Oh! I get it!" Selphie crawled over to her friend. "Ditching class! Sure, I'll be quiet!" She beamed, tossing her hair.   
  
The other girl nodded, not looking up from her book. There was silence for awhile, neither willing to give up their position. If she looked at a certain angle through the branches, Mirae could see a few of the older students that she knew, helping the younger SeeD hopefuls with their studies. If she strained her ears, she could even hear them.   
  
"Oh, come off it, Niles! Everyone can cast magic!" A slender girl told her chubby little pupil.   
  
Niles shook his head, pouting. "It just doesn't come to me, Quistis!"   
  
Quistis crossed her arms, pushing her golden hair away from her face. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm trying to help you!"   
  
Beside her, a young man with long auburn hair chuckled. "Having problems, Quisty?"   
  
"F*** off, Irvine," Quistis muttered. "I'm having a bad day."   
  
"Yeah...you are sorta being a b****," Irvine admitted, then danced out of the way of his friend's fist. He looked around absently, tugging on the rim of his cowboy hat. "Hey, you guys seen Sefie?"   
  
Mirae immediately turned to her friend, brushing her black hair from her eyes. "Selph, they're looking for you..."   
  
The girl nodded. "Yep."   
  
"So..." Mirae started, then frowned. "I kinda don't want to be...you know, seen...?"   
  
"Relax!" Selphie grinned. "I don't think they'll find me. Besides," she complained, "I'm sooo sick of learning how to cast magic! Like, hello! It's so basic!"   
  
Mirae nodded absently, peering through the branches once again. "Keep it down, Selph," she warned. "Looks like Irvine's heading this way."   
  
Selphie joined her at the edge of their sanctuary. She stood there for a moment, then her face brightened. "And so the daring rebels make their escape!" She whispered, and grabbed Mirae's arm, pulling her towards the trunk of the tree.   
  
"Ow... Selph... I don't think... Hey!... Shit..."   
  
In a few moments, both girls were clinging to the branches of the tree, much too high for Mirae's liking. She wrapped herself around the trunk, holding tightly in fear. Selphie hung down by her legs like a monkey, giggling. "Let's just hope they don't look up!"   
  
"You're insane," Mirae whispered, forcing a smile.   
  
"Shh! Here they come!"   
  
They heard voices coming towards them, and a slight blurring right outside, suggesting that two people were standing in front of the tree.   
  
"You think she's here?"   
  
"Hell, this is Sefie we're talking about. She could be halfway to Esthar on an inebriated moogle, and I wouldn't be surprised."   
  
Mirae recognized Zell's laughter, and she immediately blushed crimson. He couldn't see her like this, hanging off a tree! Nervously, she shifted positions, and winced as the bark scraped at her side. Selphie made a face.   
  
"Inebriated moogle? Puh-lease. These days, you gotta ride a chocobo."   
  
At this, Mirae tried her hardest to stop the hysterical giggling that bubbled inside her, but only barely succeeded. Selphie gave her an odd look, ten stuck her tongue out.   
  
"Heard that!" came a yell from outside. "Entering the enemy base. Prepare to be annihilated."   
  
"Zell, what are you taking?"   
  
"Huh? Oh, um...Flintstone chewables, I guess..."   
  
"Hyne..." Irvine guffawed, pushing the canopy out of the way. He took a step in, looking around, then leaned casually against the trunk, arms crossed, long legs stretched out in front of him.   
  
Zell followed awkwardly, tripped over a root, and went sprawling face first into the dirt. His friend sank to the ground, laughing.   
  
Glaring at him, the martial artist spit out a clod of dirt and stood up, brushing the mess off his clothes. "Shut up, Kinneas. Man, these pants are new, too! Ma is gonna kill me!"   
  
The other smirked, adjusting his cowboy hat. "Don't wanna upset your ma now, do you? Heh." For the second time that day, he dodged a fist.   
  
Mirae heard a rustling in the branches by her, and looked over to see Selphie inching farther out on the branch, her bright green eyes sparkling in amuesment.   
  
"Selph, don't-" she whispered frantically, but it was too late. With a high pitched yell, her friend lept off the branch, pouncing on Irvine. Both went down in a tangle of limbs, rolling in the dirt until finally Irvine, bigger and stronger by far, pinned her to the ground.   
  
"What is this," he complained, "Kill the cowboy day?" His blue eyes held a twinkle of mirth as Selphie struggled to get up, however. "Give it up, doll. Or I'll tickle you."   
  
"Nooo!!" Selphie shrieked. "Mirae! Save me!"   
  
"Mirae?" Zell looked at the girl clinging desperately twenty feet up, her face white, tendrils of black hair falling out of her usually neat ponytail.   
  
*Oh gosh, he's looking at me. I gotta get down!* She thought frantically, and biting her lip, she began to inch down the tree. The bark scraped her skin raw, and she tried not to cry out in pain as a sharp branch stabbed her ankle. *Just don't look down... don't look down... don't look down... *   
  
"Mirae!" Zell moved to stand beneath her, concern mirrored in his face.   
  
"Zell?" she whispered, and glanced down. Too late. She didn't know that her friends could look so small, and her heart began to pound. The world spun around her like a merry go round. Shaking, she stopped looking where she was going, and one foot slammed down on a branch that was too small for her weight. There was a defeaning crack, and dimly Mirae heard a shriek of fear as she plummeted to the earth.


End file.
